Biographical Note:

Albert N. Ames was born October 15, 1838, in Oswego, New York. His mother died when he was eleven, whereupon an older sister took custody of him for the next eight years. Albert’s father, Cheney Ames, a state legislator, subsequently remarried and reassembled the family in Oswego. Albert worked at a local factory and trained in a militia group in late 1860 through the summer of 1861, when he enlisted in the First New York Light Artillery being organized in part by his cousin Nelson Ames.

The regiment was trained at the Elmira barracks in the fall of 1861 and Albert was elected sergeant major of Battery D. Nelson was elected first lieutenant before the unit shipped out to Camp Barry, near Washington, D.C. for the winter. The battery came under fire for the first time in early March 1862, at the same time Albert was promoted to second lieutenant. Later that month the battery was transferred to Hooker’s Division of the Third Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, and accompanied that unit to the Virginia Peninsula the following month. Battery D saw plenty of action in the Peninsula campaign but when the Army moved north for the Maryland campaign in late summer of 1862, it was detached and left near Washington on guard duty. During the Fredericksburg campaign Ames and his mates temporarily were attached to the Ninth Corps, where it saw action.

In the spring of 1863, Battery D found itself back in the Third Corps, where they performed “heavy service” in the bloody Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Mine Run campaigns. In December 1863, Albert was promoted to first lieutenant of Battery G, 1st New York Artillery, in the 2nd Corps of the Army of the Potomac. He remained in this outfit for the duration of his service. He was present for all the trials of the 2nd Corps throughout the Wilderness (where his battery participated in Upton’s famous assault and captured nine Rebel guns), Spotsylvania, and Petersburg campaigns. It was at the latter place while inspecting the lines with Captain Nelson Ames, that Albert was fatally wounded by a Rebel sharpshooter. This was only one week after Albert’s original enlistment had expired, but due to a law passed forcing officers to remain for the duration of the war, he had not gone home with many of his enlisted friends.

Scope and Content Note:

These papers consist chiefly of letters related to the military service of Albert Ames during the Civil War. The letters were sent mostly to his family in Oswego, New York, or to his father in Albany, New York. In addition to descriptions of battles and campaigns, the letters contain much information about camp life, army gossip, comments on patriotism. Albert was a conscientious young man who fought solely for the reunion of his country and he never mentions slavery as an issue worth fighting about. The collection includes a small pocket diary kept by Albert from May 3 to September 16, 1864, which details daily activities and accounts of mess (food) supplied to officers in Battery G for September 1864; obituaries, letters of condolence, and other papers concerning his death; and a historical and biographical sketch about Albert that was written in 1890 by Nelson Ames, who later wrote a book about the 1st N.Y. Light Artillery in the war.